HC Deb 28 October 1998 vol 318 cc185-7W
Mr. Blunt

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many abortions were performed in England and Wales on women resident in Northern Ireland by weeks gestation in the last five years for which figures are available; [56936]

(2) what is the total number of abortions carried out on residents of Northern Ireland in England and Wales since 1970; [56938]

(3) how many abortions were performed in England and Wales for each of the statutory grounds of the Abortion Act 1967 as amended on women resident in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [56937]

Ms Hewitt

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Crispin Blunt, dated 28 October 1998: As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary questions on abortions. The information on how many abortions were performed in England and Wales for each of the statutory grounds on women resident in Northern Ireland requested is shown in the following table.

Legal abortions performed in England and Wales on residents of Northern Ireland by statutory grounds, 1993–97
Statutory grounds 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
All grounds 1,629 1,678 1,548 1,573 1,572
A (alone or with B, C or D)
B (alone) 1 1 1
B (with C or D) 1
C (alone) 1,574 1,581 1,488 1,538 1,544
D (alone, or with C) 53 94 59 34 28
E (alone) 1
E (with A, B, C or D) 1 1
F or G

Source:

Office for National Statistics I have enclosed a copy of "Conditions of the Act and statutory grounds" (for abortion) from the Abortion Annual Reference Volume series AB No 23 to explain the codes used. Information on abortions by weeks gestation is shown in the following table.

Legal abortions performed in England and Wales on residents of Northern Ireland by gestation (weeks), 1993–97
Gestation (weeks) 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Total 1,629 1,678 1,548 1,573 1,572
Under 9 537 575 521 486 460
9–12 784 797 744 800 810
13–19 280 280 260 252 266
20+ 28 26 23 35 36

Source:

Office for National Statistics

Information on the total number of abortions carried out on residents of Northern Ireland in England and Wales is shown in the following table.

Terminations to residents of Northern Ireland performed in England and Wales, 1970–1997
Year Number of abortions
1970 199
1971 648
1972 775
1973 1,007
1974 1,092
1975 1,115
1976 1,142
1977 1,244
1978 1,311
1979 1,425
1980 1,565
1981 1,441
1982 1,510
1983 1,460
1984 1,530
1985 1,637
1986 1,724
1987 1,746
1988 1,815
1989 1,816
1990 1,855
1991 1,775
1992 1,794
1993 1,629
1994 1,678
1995 1,548
1996 1,573
1997 1,572

Source:

Registrar General's Statistical Review 1970–1973

Abortion Statistics Series AB nos 1–23, 1974–1996

ONS Monitor AB 98/3, 1997

All figures for 1997 are provisional, and relate to notifications received by 19 May 1998. They are published in ONS Monitor AB 98/3 Legal abortions in England and Wales 1997, but are liable to change very slightly when final annual 1997 data are published in the Abortions Annual Reference Volume series AB No 24 in December 1998.

Dr. Vis

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many abortions were carried out on Barnet residents in 1997; how many of these were carried out in NHS hospitals; how many were paid for by the NHS; how many were carried out by agency arrangement and paid for by the NHS; and how many were carried out in the private sector(a) inside and (b) outside Barnet. [56904]

Ms Hewitt

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Tim Holt to Dr. Rudi Vis, dated 28 October 1998: As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary question on abortions in Barnet. Provisional results indicate that there were 1,674 abortions performed on residents of Barnet Health Authority (HA) in 1997. Of these, 993 abortions were performed in NHS hospitals: 861 were paid for by the NHS and 132 were carried out by agency arrangement and paid for by the NHS. Of the 681 abortions performed on non-NHS premises, 5 were terminated in Barnet HA and 676 were terminated outside Barnet HA. Figures for 1997 are provisional, and relate to notifications received by 19 May 1998. They are published in ONS Monitor AB 98/3 Legal abortions in England and Wales 1997, but are liable to change very slightly when final annual 1997 data are published in the Abortions Annual Reference Volume series AB No 24 in December 1998.

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